1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to a load-bearing support structure for a bed or the like which provides substantially one hundred percent unobstructed floor space in sleeping quarters such as dormitories or the like. The present invention discloses a unique support structure which may be easily assembled without the need for tools. The support system is conveniently disassembled for movement to a different location and/or storage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many educational institutions provide dormitories in order to accommodate students who are required to live on campus. Dormitories are generally multistory buildings having a central elevator and stairway corridor. On either side of the central area is a hallway having a plurality of small rooms located on either side of the hallway. These small rooms generally do not have bathrooms.
Each room has a small closet and is usually furnished with two single beds, two desks, two lamps, two chairs, and a dresser or bureau. Even though each room contains a minimal amount of furniture, the rooms are small and space is at a premium.
Since these rooms are small and sparse, it is difficult for two people to live comfortably within the room. This is true since most dorm rooms lack sufficient space to maintain a stereo, television, small refrigerator, or to store a bicycle and the like.
Students desiring a more livable environment often remove their beds or make the existing two single beds into a lower and upper berth bunk bed. With the same goal in mind, students also replace their beds with futon mattresses.
Load-bearing scaffolds are well-known in the construction arts. Such scaffolds are generally adapted for supporting workmen, construction equipment, and building materials. Also known are bunks and berths adapted to provide sleeping accommodations for passengers, military personnel, students, or small children. These apparatus are often adapted to be supported from poles anchored to the floor and ceiling of a room. For example, apparatus of this general species are disclosed by Lein U.S. Pat. No. 665,535; Rodrigues U.S. Pat. No. 958,895; Gosso U.S. Pat. No. 1,325,320; and Gosso U.S. Pat. No. 1,089,545.
Also known to the art are bunks or berths adapted to be supported by anchoring the bunk or berth to a wall. For example, apparatus of this general species are disclosed by Lein U.S. Pat. No. 669,175; Dowling U.S. Pat. No. 822,592; Rodrigues U.S. Pat. No. 860,941; Gumm U.S. Pat. No. 1,001,946; Thompson, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,387; Coomes U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,254; and Trexler, Jr., et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,276.
Inventions of this type are unsuitable for the present objects since their installation requires that they become room fixtures. Additionally, such bunks or berths necessarily require the dedication of otherwise useful floor space.
Freestanding bunk beds are also known to the bunk and berth art. Examples of this type of bed may be found disclosed by Lein U.S. Pat. No. 631,962; Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 1,195,637; Weaver U.S. Pat. No. 1,253,549; and Janson, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 1,349,962.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,616 provided a support structure for beds and the like which derived at least some of its support from the interior surfaces of a room. Although the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,616 represented an advance in the art, the invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,829 was an advance thereover due to the fewer components parts, ease of assembly, and superior strength.
It is believed that the invention described in the co-pending application represented an advance over the prior art described above and applicant""s earlier inventions due to the unique method of assembling and disassembling the structure which does not require the use of tools. It is believed that the instant invention represents an advance over applicant""s co-pending application due to the method of attaching the cross braces to the structure.
The present invention provides a support structure for a bed or the like while providing one hundred percent unobstructed floor space therebelow. The support structure may also be used for supporting a bed having a desk or sofa positioned therebelow. The support structure is comprised of upstanding first and second lower end frames which are horizontally spaced from one another; upstanding first and second upper end frames removably mounted on the upper ends of the first and second lower end frames, respectively; first and second guardrails mounted on the upper ends of the first and second upper end frames; mattress supports which are secured to and which extend between the first and second guardrails for supporting a mattress thereon; accessory supports which are secured to and which extend between the first and second lower end frames or which extend between the first and second upper end frames for supporting accessories thereon such as a desk, sofa, etc.; a first cross brace which is removably secured to the first upper end frame and which is removably secured to the second lower end frame; and a second cross brace which is secured to the first lower end frame and removably secured to the second upper end frame. The support structure may be assembled without the use of tools and may be quickly disassembled without the use of tools.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved support structure for a bed or the like.
A further object of the invention is to provide a structure for supporting a bed or the like which may be assembled and disassembled without the use of tools.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a support structure for a bed or the like but which also may be used to support an additional bed, sofa, or desk thereon.
These and other objects will be obvious to those skilled in the art.